Not Far from the Tree
by Blue Phoenix Flower
Summary: Elena Russo is so much like her dad. She shares his green-grey eyes, incredible work ethic, and...being in love with a family member. History likes to repeat itself.


There were two things that Elena Russo was completely certain about. First thing is that she was completely and irrevocably (one of her new favorite words) in love with Ryan Janousek. Second thing is that no one would be happy if they found out that particular piece of information. It stems from the problem: Ryan Janousek is her first cousin.

Many are wondering how the hell this one happened. He's her GODDAMN cousin, isn't that disgusting? Honestly, Elena barely knows either. One day he was just her annoying cousin that liked to throw mud in her face and the next day he was Adonis incarnate! Honestly, what girl doesn't love guy that flaunts his body all the time? Add the way Ryan has faint freckles across his shoulders and nose, beautifully thick/wavy hair, and eyes the color of cinnamon. You have instant crush material right there.

Anyway, in order to hide these feelings, Elena dived right into her wizard training. Every little spell was worked on until it was beyond perfect. Her Dad was so proud of her work ethics while the Council sung her praises to the high heaven.

"_Elena Russo is one of the brightest wizards I've seen in many millennia!"_

"_She has the same talent as her father."_

"_Just as long as she doesn't make the same mistakes as her father…"_

Remarks like that final sentence would remind Elena why her Aunt Alex gets this agonized look on her face whenever someone talked about her Dad.

Uncle Max was the link to the family. Since her dad didn't really want to go to any of the family functions, Max would poof over to their apartment in San Francisco and bring Elena with him to New York. Justin never explicitly told his daughter why he would never go with her to Waverly Place but she knew why ever the same.

Justin Russo was going to be one of the best wizards in existence. He was going to be the next Professor Crumbs! But no one really accounted for the "Puerto Rico" incident that caused Justin to commit the ultimate taboo: incest. It wasn't his fault, just the issue of teenage hormones and memory loss that caused him to lust after his sister. It just went downhill from there. Now, after God knows how many years later, he is a single dad that barely talked to his family due to the shame that comes with having these feelings for sister that are not brotherly. If it wasn't for Uncle Max, Justin and Elena would have disappeared a long time ago.

So yeah, maybe this whole thing between her dad and her Aunt Alex is why she has a crush on Ryan. You know, like, repetition of history? But it's not at the same time. Elena will never be Justin and Ryan will never be Alex. They may be similar but they are very different in the end.

Let's take this Christmas for example, when everything changed.

It's the first time that Elena was able to convince her dad to come to the Sub Station. When she told Uncle Max, they did a happy jig in the lair. However this euphoria came crashing down when the three of them came into the Sub Station. Because the moment Alex saw Justin, the whole room became freezing with 30 different shades of awkward.

Things got worse from there. Dinner was awkward and not even the crazy antics of all of the cousins could make the tension drop. So right after dessert, Elena darted right into the Lair.

"This is nuts! Never again!" she yelled throwing up her hands to the sky. "I wonder how things got this bad. Because this is way too much!"

"Talking to yourself beautiful?" a voice said behind her. Elena jumped and turned to face Ryan.

"Oh, hi Ryan. I thought you were going to do damage control," she said.

"Nah. Uncle Justin and Mom are getting into an intense argument," Ryan answered with a shrug. "Everyone more or less cleared out."

"I'm thinking that it was a bad idea to get the whole family together," she murmured looking out towards to the lower level of the Sub Station.

"And prevent Granddad and Abuela from seeing their eldest son? That's a little heartless," he remarked.

"How did you get so wise?" she wondered with a smile.

"It's not being wise, it's using your common sense," he replied. A heart-melting grin graced his features and butterflies erupted from her stomach.

So it surprised the heck out of Elena when Ryan kissed her. It was very quick but God did take her breath away.

Elena was so distracted by Ryan that she failed to notice the sprig of enchanted mistletoe that bloomed above them. You see, enchanted mistletoe is a wizard tradition. It pops up in both worlds and wherever there's a magical couple that needs a kiss. It won't let the couple in question go unless they kiss, hence the name enchanted mistletoe.

"Wow," she breathed. "Um, what was that?"

"Enchanted mistletoe," he answered.

It crushed her heart.

"Oh."

She walked out of the lair and back into the station. She saw the battle between her dad and Aunt Alex, their faces red while the rest of the family was watching in horror. It was like a car crash. You can't help but watch.

"Daddy, we're leaving," she announced.

And before anyone can make a statement or protest otherwise, they left with a swirl of magic.

Because the apple never falls far from the tree.

* * *

><p><strong>Um...I would like to say that my brain comes up with very weird things. This was suppose to be sorta happy with Ryan and Elena getting together but it seems that angst follows the Russo's wherever they go.<strong>

**Happy Holidays!**


End file.
